SFC Nathan L. Winder

[Snaquebite]

RELEASE NUMBER: 070628-01
DATE POSTED: JUNE 28, 2007

PRESS RELEASE: Special Forces Soldier killed in Iraq

U.S. Army Special Operations Command

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, June 28, 2007) — An Army Green Beret died June 26, 2007 from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations outside Diwaniyah, Iraq.

Sgt. 1st Class Nathan L. Winder, 32, a Special Forces medic, was killed by small arms fire while assisting another U.S. Army element as a member of a U.S. Special Forces Quick Reaction Force.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Winder was raised in Utah. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Lewis, Wash. and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula.

Winder enlisted in the Army August 31, 1993, as a mechanized infantryman. After completing basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga., he was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment at Fort Riley, Kan. He later served as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle section leader with 1st Bn., 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Hovey, Korea and as a dismounted squad leader with 1st Bn., 5th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas.

In 2003, he was selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, to become a Special Forces medic. He earned the coveted Green Beret in 2006 and was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Winder’s military education also includes the Warrior Leaders Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, and Basic Airborne Course.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Driver/Mechanics Badge and the Special Forces Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Winder is survived by his wife, Mechelle, of South Africa and his son, Logan, of Herkimer, N.Y. He is also survived by his parents, Tom and Terri Winder of Blanding, Utah.

--usasoc--

http://news.soc.mil/releases/News%20...070628-01.html